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  • Altria Seeks Boost from Double Duty Drawback

    Altria Seeks Boost from Double Duty Drawback

    Altria Group said it expects profits to get a lift in the second half of the year by taking advantage of a U.S. tax rebate tied to higher cigarette imports and exports, even after narrowly missing fourth-quarter 2025 profit estimates. Despite forecasting full-year 2026 earnings above analysts’ expectations, Altria’s shares fell about 2.8% following the update.

    The boost is expected to come from the so-called “double duty drawback,” a provision that allows tobacco companies to reclaim federal excise taxes paid on domestically sold cigarettes when they export similar products. According to Reuters, while rivals such as British American Tobacco have long benefited from this mechanism, Altria historically could not because it sells cigarettes only in the U.S. The company is now expanding exports through partnerships and contract manufacturing deals with foreign firms, including South Korea’s KT&G.

    Altria executives said using the rebate is necessary to remain competitive as cigarette sales continue to decline. The company has been investing in alternative products, such as its On! nicotine pouches, though competition has intensified.

  • Altria Revenue Down 3.1%, Forecasts Growth Amid Smoke-Free Push

    Altria Revenue Down 3.1%, Forecasts Growth Amid Smoke-Free Push

    Altria Group reported 2025 adjusted diluted EPS of $5.42, up 4.4% year over year, as the company highlighted momentum in its smoke-free portfolio and $8 billion in total shareholder returns through dividends and share repurchases. Full-year net revenues declined 3.1% to $23.3 billion, while revenues net of excise taxes fell 1.5% to $20.1 billion. In the fourth quarter, Altria repurchased $288 million in stock and paid $1.8 billion in dividends. The company also noted recent FDA marketing authorizations for additional on! PLUS nicotine pouch variants and continued progress under its multi-year Optimize & Accelerate cost-savings initiative.

    Altria expects 2026 adjusted diluted EPS in a range of $5.56 to $5.72, representing projected growth of 2.5% to 5.5%. Guidance assumes continued investment in smoke-free products, limited enforcement impact from illicit e-vapor products, and that NJOY ACE will not return to the market in 2026. The company reaffirmed its long-term strategy of building an FDA-authorized smoke-free portfolio while maintaining leadership in traditional tobacco, targeting mid-single-digit earnings and dividend growth through 2028.

  • Altria to Host Q4, FY25 Webcast January 29

    Altria to Host Q4, FY25 Webcast January 29

    Altria Group, Inc. will host a live audio webcast on January 29 at 9 a.m. EST to discuss its 2025 fourth-quarter and full-year business results. Altria will issue a press release containing its business results approximately two hours prior. The webcast can be accessed at altria.com.

    During the webcast, CEO Billy Gifford and CFO Sal Mancuso will discuss the company’s results and answer questions from the investment community and news media.

    The webcast will be in a listen-only mode. Pre-event registration is necessary; directions are posted at www.altria.com/webcasts. An archived copy of the webcast will be available on altria.com.

  • Altria Pushes to End Juul’s ITC Patent Investigation

    Altria Pushes to End Juul’s ITC Patent Investigation

    NJOY and Altria Group are asking a federal judge in Virginia to immediately halt a U.S. International Trade Commission investigation triggered by Juul Labs’ nicotine-salt patent claims, arguing the ITC lacks constitutional authority to hear the case. In a reply filed Tuesday (January 6) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the companies urged the court to grant summary judgment and permanently enjoin the ITC proceeding rather than allow it to continue while constitutional challenges are litigated.

    The filing argues the investigation violates the Appointments Clause, improperly insulates ITC administrative law judges through double for-cause removal protections, and infringes Article III limits, citing the Supreme Court’s decision in SEC v. Jarkesy. Altria and NJOY contend they are suffering irreparable harm by being subjected to an allegedly unconstitutional process, noting the ITC has scheduled an evidentiary hearing for April 22, 2026.

  • Juul, NJOY, and Altria Battle Over Public Document Case

    Juul, NJOY, and Altria Battle Over Public Document Case

    Juul Labs asked a federal court in Arizona to block rivals NJOY and Altria from using documents hosted in a public University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) database, according to a joint court filing dated December 24. The dispute arises in an ongoing patent lawsuit, with Juul arguing that some documents were inadvertently disclosed during a large-scale production tied to state settlement agreements and remain protected by attorney–client privilege.

    NJOY and Altria oppose the request, saying the documents have been publicly accessible online for months or years and are therefore no longer privileged. They argue the materials may contain evidence relevant to alleged misconduct in Juul’s patent filings. After failed negotiations, the issue has been submitted to U.S. District Judge John J. Tuchi, who will decide whether the publicly available documents can be excluded from use in the litigation.

  • Altria CEO Gifford to Retire in 2026; Mancuso Named Successor

    Altria CEO Gifford to Retire in 2026; Mancuso Named Successor

    Altria Group announced that CEO Billy Gifford will retire following the company’s 2026 Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 14, ending a more than 30-year career with the company. Gifford, who has led the company since 2020, plans to remain as a consultant through at least the end of 2026 to support a smooth leadership transition. Company leaders praised Gifford for steering Altria through a turbulent period and emphasized continuity in advancing the company’s “Moving Beyond Smoking” strategy under the incoming leadership team.

    The board has elected Salvatore “Sal” Mancuso, currently Altria’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, to succeed Gifford as CEO. Mancuso joined Philip Morris USA in 1990 and has held senior roles across strategy, finance, and compliance. Board Chair Kathryn McQuade said his selection followed a long-term succession process evaluating both internal and external candidates.

    Heather Newman, Altria’s chief strategy and growth officer, has been named the company’s next CFO, also effective at the 2026 Annual Meeting. Newman, who joined Altria in 1999, previously served as president and CEO of Philip Morris USA.

  • Altria Declares $1.06 Regular Quarterly Dividend

    Altria Declares $1.06 Regular Quarterly Dividend

    Altria Group, Inc. today announced that its Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, payable on January 9, 2026 to shareholders of record as of December 26, 2025. The ex-dividend date is December 26, 2025.

  • Alaska Settles 2020 Suit with Juul, Altria for $7.8M  

    Alaska Settles 2020 Suit with Juul, Altria for $7.8M  

    The State of Alaska has reached a $5.8 million settlement with Juul over allegations that the company marketed vaping products to minors, bringing total recoveries in the case to $7.8 million, including a prior settlement with Altria. The lawsuit, filed in 2020, accused the companies of designing and promoting products in ways that appealed to children and teenagers.

    Under the agreement, payments from Juul will be made over five years, with the first installment due this month. Settlement terms also impose court-enforceable marketing restrictions in Alaska.

    Half of the settlement funds will support Alaska’s tobacco prevention and control programs, with the remainder directed to state consumer protection efforts.

  • KT&G, Altria on Track to Expand Global Pouch Business

    KT&G told Nate News that its plans to enter the global nicotine pouch market in earnest next year are moving forward as planned, believing that its $176.8 million purchase of Another Snus Factory will be completed this year, followed by disposing of 49% of the company to Altria.

    “Starting next year, we plan to expand the nicotine pouch business beyond the five Nordic countries [Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland] to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and North America,” a KT&G official said.

    According to Euromonitor, the global nicotine pouch market reached $11.2 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow more than 30% this year.

  • New Indonesian Factory Fuels KT&G’s Expansion

    New Indonesian Factory Fuels KT&G’s Expansion

    KT&G told Hankooki.com today (November 12) that its Indonesian factory is scheduled to be completed within the month and should begin full-scale operations in February 2026. The 190,000-square-meter facility, which will produce cigarettes and capsule products for export across Southeast Asia and beyond, is expected to boost KT&G’s annual production capacity in Indonesia to 35 billion cigarettes, making it the company’s largest overseas manufacturing base.

    The move follows the launch of KT&G’s Kazakhstan plant in April, which can produce 4.5 billion cigarettes annually and serves as a key export hub for the Eurasian market. With both sites operational, KT&G aims to produce over half of its total output overseas in the medium to long term, improving global supply efficiency.

    The company also plans to expand into new markets like Jordan and Bangladesh, while growing its next-generation product (NGP) segment and nicotine pouch business through a strategic partnership and joint acquisition with Altria.